Friends and relatives said Susan Poff and Robert Kamin of Oakland were the perfect pair to adopt a foster child.
They had dedicated their careers to helping others escape poverty, she as a physician assistant in a city-run clinic in the Tenderloin and he as a clinical psychologist for inmates in the San Francisco County Jail system.
But now, less than a decade after they adopted, their 15-year-old son stands accused of strangling both Poff, 50, and Kamin, 55, then hiding their bodies in the back of the family’s PT Cruiser.
[…]
Co-workers said Poff and Kamin were having some arguments with their son, some of it having to do with him spending too much time in the Occupy Oakland encampment….
Well, if ya can’t bury the folks in the backyard and then go camping…what does that say about this world?
Call me a prude, but I’m not laughing. 🙁
I’m not laughing either Eric…
…sorry..Erik.
I know synchro – I meant the “orphaned again” line. Poor parents.
Srsly – everyone thinks the younger generation is worse, but maybe it’s an exponential decay now
And the best are getting injured and killed in lousy overseas countries. 🙁
Good point.
How could someone possibly fit 2 bodies in the back of a PT cruiser?
The nuts don’t fall far from the tree. As many people that adopted kids from Romania found out, some kids are defective from birth. Physical can be dealt with but mental is a gamble. Defective parents often make defective children and all the love the adopting parents can give the child does not change the mental disposition towards evil. If one does not know the tree, the little nut is a gamble. Understanding genetics is still in the infant stage, but we know if our parents have a disposition to various diseases, our probability to getting those diseases increases. Mental problems are less understood but it stands to reason that the same genetic defects can be passed to the child. Some nuts are dangerous. Adopting without knowing the tree will always be a gamble as far as the little nuts are concerned.
true dat.
peterj
Funny thing is that most folks are smart enough to know that some dogs however reared are simply dangerous…..but when it comes to humans, think that nuture can overcome nature….that the term “bad seed” is just bigotry….
T’aint right, t’aint wrong,….it just is….
Looking for a puppy, they found instead an Asp
couched waiting to strike. Taking their lives.
Obviously this Kid was no genius, with the morals a scorpion would admire.
How could he possibly think he could get away with this? For that matter live? Was he a tool of an OWS figure looking for loot? The truth will out.
The victims probably never read: The bad Seed. No doubt believing in the perfectibility of humanity.
That people are Tabula Rasa.
The kid was obviously mentally defective, not only from the perspective of “murder most foul” but hiding the bodies in the family car?
Not touching the bases but dangerous as hell. A tragedy for sure. A piece of crap is being held and will be let go in the not too distant future and two good people are dead. A tragedy indeed.
One of the similarities of the stories of the Holocaust survivors and the the Rwanda survivors is that was people they knew that got caught up in hatred and fervor and turned on them.
Anger and hatred are seeds that you think you can handle but they grow into something that you cannot. If they are nutured and you do not weed them out, you will end up doing something which you will eternally regret.
I think his parents were spot on that he was spending to much time at Occupy Oakland. just like in Rwanda people are stoking up hatred and divisions for their own political purposes and it will get out of hand.
I think this kid is a sign of things to come. I hope I’m wrong, but the setups to the Nazis and Rwanda are all here. Is there some reason why we are special and it cannot happen here?
Peterj,
Not just genetics, but what struck me about this story is that the kid was 5 years old already when he was adopted. I think a lot of damage can be done at an early age – damage that cannot be repaired with any amount of love, understanding, etc. Sad to think that some of these kids in terrible situations might almost be beyond rehabilitation, even if rescued at a relatively young age. I’m sure there are many examples of the opposite being the case (I hope).
Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.
Thomas Sowell
from: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_sowell.html
Did anyone else get the distinct impression that the writer was trying to deflect to video game violence as the cause?
That’s sad. A messed-up kid spending too much time with messed up adults that quite likely impressed upom him that his parents were part of the evil 1%.
I think wallyj is getting closer to the heart of the problem. Yon 15-year-old simply took the Occupy ideal to its logical conclusion.
Just listen to the excuses! So far it was his parents’ fault; his genetics; he’s mentally defective. Kate was way ahead of you with the orphan joke.
nick – Just listen to the excuses! So far it was his parents’ fault; his genetics; he’s mentally defective. Kate was way ahead of you with the orphan joke.
What in hell are you talking about? Yes – the really old orphan joke. I thought we were here for discussion. Who knew I was wrong?
Don’t invite a vampire into your home. I knew someone who adopted 3 kids. The two adopted as babies were wonderful. The one adopted at about 6 made their life really interesting for about 10 years.
Occupy prison.
“Bob was my brother and my best friend. I feel shock now, and soon I’ll feel the sorrow. Then anger could possibly come up later,”
– his brother has just been murdered, and this guy reverts to psychobabble! these people are all nuts.
pertj, they are like cattle dogs, you have 2 or 3 great ones during your lifetime and there are 5 or 6 that you can try and try with but it is no use. Send this little “occupier” to that judge in Kingston, Canadas judicial system has finally given a strapadicktomie to a judge, and it was great to see. Let Bob Rae adopt the little fellow now, after all he is only misunderstood.
I agree, this is just the logical conclusion to be expected from the Occupy crowd. They seem to be a potential Manson family waiting for the excuse to kill. This kid killed his adopted parents because they didn’t like his new “friends”. I wonder if these people put him up to killing his “1%er” parents in the name of their BS movement.
Susan Poff from the article:
– graduated from UC Berkeley: Check
– volunteered in El Salvador: Check
– worked in low income health clinic in New England: Check
– returned to S.F. to work in Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic: Check
Being found in the back of a PT Cruiser – how embarrasing.
They adopted a bouncing baby sociopath.
Geez, tough crowd! The SDA comments is not the place to come looking for sympathy when, say, your brother is murdered, heaven forfend.
Right on Mamba!
Mr. Slater sir, I don’t usually comment on religious matters, but this statement of yours needs seeing to.
The angels do not rejoice when somebody goes to Hell. If you think they do, I’d say you are one seriously frigged-up individual and you need to get yourself to an actual Christian church RFN to get your skull sorted out. You have no idea what Christianity is about.
Two bleeding-heart social justice liberals likely did not adopt but instead created and nurtured a self-righteous sociopath /psychopath. I see this dynamic happening all around me in my own Liberal-Lefty enclave.
Need we look at other examples of upper-middle class entitlement brats gone bad, such as Rachel Corrie, Lorrie Berenson, John Walker Lindh, Che Guevara…..?
I think everyone is just rejoicing in the irony.
Hey,give this kid a break, he’s only 15, the same age as sweet Omar. Maybe we can bring him to Canada.
We give the phsycriatic profession far to much credit in their ability to actually help or understand the human mind. They will listen to your problems and recommend a drug, but thats about the extent of their knowledge. I have one in my family circle and honest to god, he himself needs help in my opinion,(Hope he doesn’t read SDA)as he is intelligent in a narrow beam but totally devoid of logic or common sense. I wanted his opinion on this videos accuracy
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/page/4634.html
and he has avoided the subject for over a year, although his wife told me he had watched it. The reason all this comes to mind is that they also have 2 teens (13 + 16) who have no hesitation in telling their parents to go f*ck themselves when it comes to any kind of dicipline. Even in front of company. Guess those time outs were ineffective. The 16 year old boy has all the symptoms of being a entitlement brat heading for trouble and was involved with the OWS crowd. Parents can’t see a problem with “normal teenage rebellion”. The wife and I see plenty of problems but….we are not phsychiatrists.
P T Cruiser, atleast he was think of mother earth, using an economy class car
Lemiux:
The evidence is that sociopaths are born that way, not created after birth – although they can be turned into particularly violent criminals with the proper upbringing.
More abortions and problem solve
h/t C_Miner “Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.” Thomas Sowell
Well, we’re not allowed to discipline the little barbarians anymore: parents, teachers, police, you name the “old” authorities: our authority has been stripped by such abominations as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (sic). Some of us grew up when the adults were in charge. We still know how to be authentically authoritative: it’s a valuable skill . . . but try to exercise it these days. The kids are “offended” and tattle tale to “the PC powers that be”. Then who’s in trouble? Not the responsible adults who have actually followed the written behaviour codes. No, it’s the brats who have broken them—again, and probably more egregiously. WHAT a mess!
RIP, Susan and Robert.
Back of a PT Cruiser, considering the parents it should have been a Toyota Prius. That pair doesn’t sound like the perfect pair to adopt, they sound like people that live their lives for everyone else, and would have no time or inclination for healthy family life. I could be wrong, but…
I can’t believe you’re not showing this kid any sympathy. He’s an orphan now! Shurely that ought to weigh in his favour..
Reminds me of that Johnny Rivers song about the frozen snake the woman took in and when he was revived the snake bite her.
I saved you cried that woman
and you’ve bitten me but why?
you know your bite is poisonous
and now I’m gonna die.
Ha ha, shut up, silly woman.
said that reptile with a grin.
You knew darn well I was a snake
before you took me in.
,
Midnight in the garden of evil …
It does seem that the Occupy Oakland stands out among the Occupy groups for its violence.
Uh, DERise, you mean the Toyota “Pious”, right?
John Lewis: Oakland / Violence.
Van Jones, right?
Time for Logan’s Run!
Everyone over 21, into the coliseum
Me No Dhimmi, just wait ’til the Occupy G-8 Summit in Chicago, being promoted by Adbuster’s Kalle Lasn, aged Vancouver radical harkening back to the 1968 glory days of Chicago mayhem and riots. Romancing the stoned.
I am sorry but when people adopt a child they do it out of love …it’s not like going to the pound or the produce market they are trying to make a difference in an unloved child’s life they are trying to show the child thAt even thoug there parent did not want me ,they can still be loved and are worthy of love …and this is how the little puke repays them …sorry but I say send him back to where veer he came from strip him of his citizenship and leave me to his own defenses no trial,no judge jury nothing just on a plane and dropped off at the next airport and see ya. Litte bastard. My goodness what a stereotypical occupy puke just an ungreatful spoiled f$ck . More evidence of sin in this world . Just some sin hurts more than others this is truly tradjec. Gods peace to me both I hope is little puke gets life with no parol.
Aw, c’mon, people.
Most likely an undiagnosed schizophreniac. Looks like he took no rational steps to hide the murders, or to leave and save himself.
Stories like this don’t involve evil, or video games, or upbringing or nutrition or even the shame of a teenager driven to school in a PT Cruiser.
Stories like this are just sad.
Some children are too damaged from abuse/neglect in their early years to ever be “normal” or safe.
Danny, from your “Pious” comment, I would assume that you believe that I think that the parents were self righteous, holier-that-thou knights of social justice, dragging their adoptve son from one cause to another. Then showing their disapproval when he finds his own cause? Naw, nothing like that.
I don’t know these poeple, nor this kid. I do know four nice girls raised by someone who is not a member of the classical All-American family. She did what others would not. Some would criticize her. Not me. The alternatives are grim for some kids who did nothing to deserve it.
Since I’m one of the others in this scene, far be it from me to criticize the dead. They tried.
This is sad.
I know two couples like these parents – well-meaning people who adopted kids from foster homes or orphanges, thinking they are going to rescue the kids and make up for their rough start in life. To their immense sorrow, they discovered that abuse and neglect causes irreparable damage to a child’s mind and emotions, and no amount of love, affection, attention or therapy can change that.